Mardi Gras Indians were able to walk New Orleans streets on St. Joseph's Night in their finery without any run-ins with police -- a tribute to negotiations between the Indians and the New Orleans Police Department. Months of talks culminated in a meeting of the City Council's Governmental Affairs Committee last month that allowed Indians and police to deal with issues that had caused friction in the past.

Every single Police Department district commander attended the meeting. Deputy Superintendent Kirk Bouyelas said then that most officers patrolling the Indian festivals would be on foot rather than in patrol cars and would be taught to have a "positive attitude'' toward the long-standing tradition.

In the past, police have used patrol car sirens and lights to disperse Indians, most notably in 2005 when police officers sped through crowds and told Indian chiefs to remove their suits or go to jail.

Civil liberties lawyer Alison McCrary, who coordinated 26 legal observers for this year's event, said none saw any instances of police ordering Indians to move along or using sirens or lights.

Relations between the NOPD and the Indians have been improving for the past few years. For example, 6th District Commander Bob Bardy created a pedestrian-only area on streets around A.L. Davis Park at the urging of chiefs in the area.

This year's peaceful St. Joseph's Night shows that those efforts are succeeding.